Critiquing the Critics: “Wiiviewer” review.

This episode isn’t as good as the last one, but there wasn’t too much I could do with it. Still, I’m proud of it and love how it only took 3 days to finish (not counting scripting). The last episode took like 7 days…Well, at least this was what I typed before all hell broke loose.

I initially was happy with this video. It was solid work and didn’t take long to make. But something went wrong with it and it started glitching when I uploaded it to youtube. After watching it like 10 times more, seeing if the glitches were fixed after failed attempts, the flaws started becoming a little more noticeable.

I ended up having to use transitions/zooming effects (excessively) for it to flow correctly. While this benefited some parts, I thought it diminished the comic timing in other parts (like the “sock” gag). So if you wonder why there are so many transitions, that’s why.

I hope you enjoy it though! Special thanks to Tom Pereira (Youtube Page: http://www.youtube.com/user/CrookedCartridge) for helping me out and Zenithwillrule for possibly leading me to a new editing software. I was originally going to review SFdebris, but that is going to be a major undertaking. I might try reviewing someone a little easier so I can test out this new editing program more effectively.

ALTERNATE SCRIPT: I rewrote the second half of this script so it would flow better.

If there are no set rules for his critiquing, then the humor is sheer snuggin anarchy. If he thinks of a joke, he’ll say it. Occasionally there will be a sketch which as I alluded to in my previous review, isn’t necessarily well made, but he is having fun and that is pretty contagious. But most of his videos don’t have a lot of comedic material, if they have any at all. Yet this ties in with his delivery, as he knows how to say certain things in a way that makes him amusing. Here is an example clip that I think showcases this. So while I rarely laughed, he often made me smile, even though he was just talking about the game and not much more.

His line reading can be a little wooden, due to him over-enunciating or not enunciating enough, but he does have a memorable voice. You might find it to be grating, but I think his personality is pretty endearing. Even if he does sound a little like Mr. Slave. Now to the technicals. Typical situation. Bad production values slowly evolve into pretty good production values but honestly, I don’t care. His format doesn’t require anything flashy and the clips at least usually have something to do with what he’s saying.

I should also bring up that his kids- Lil Wiiviewer and Littlest Wii-viewer- often make appearances and will sometimes co-review along with him. Words cannot express the terror that formed through my bowels when I realized this. I can’t stand it when reviewers shoehorn in their friends or significant others, much less their kids. But much to my surprise, they held their own very well. They seem to be fairly knowledgeable, are decent performers and if they’re reading off a script, they don’t sound like it. If there is no script, they’re really well spoken and the interactions with their Dad are a lot of fun. I actually look forward to seeing them appear. Congratulations, kiddos, you are single handedly more interesting than the Nostalgia Chick’s friends all combined.

So obviously I’m leaning towards a positive review, but how am I going to rate him? He’s comparable to Guru Larry’s reviews of contemporary games, but I think I prefer Larry a bit more. Since I gave those videos a ¾ stars, would that make Wiiviewr 2.5/4 Stars? That almost seems too low. I guess I’ll give him a 3 star rating. You might still think that’s not very high, but let me end with this. I doubt I’d really watch his videos if it weren’t for Critiquing the Critics. I’m not a big enough user of the Wii to really care about his subject and his execution- while amicable- is unremarkable. I did enjoy his videos, but there isn’t anything I consider to be exceptional about them.